Screengrab
I enjoyed Nicolette Sheridan as Alexis on Dynasty, but the writers never seemed to know what to do with her since they painted her in a corner from the moment she arrived. The Joan Collins version of Alexis was a ruthless businesswoman who suffered no fools and went after what she wanted. She was a formidable foe for her ex Blake. The Sheridan-era Alexis was a bit toothless from the git-go because she had no job, she had no money, she had no way to battle Blake on his own turf. None of this was Sheridan’s fault, of course, and she did the best with what she was given. But how I would have loved to have seen her charge and battle Blake head-to-head instead of his skirmishes with the inferior Michael Culhane, Jeff Colby and OG Cristal. None of them could hold a candle to the Joan Collins Alexis.
I was disappointed when Sheridan exited the series for family matters (and perhaps she also felt her character was going nowhere) and really hoped that she would come back at some point. The producers were, however, very good at keeping things on the down low when they finally recast the role and introduced the new face of Alexis the same way Collins was introduced in the original series at the trial of Blake Carrington for murder. Unfortunately, they couldn’t seem to find a big enough hat to make the reveal as stunning as it should have been (but they did find a bigger one in this week’s episode that she wore later … seriously, the two hats should have been swapped because the huge one was totally inappropriate for a meeting at Club Colby).
And now we have … Elaine Hendrix as Alexis, who voice has changed as much as her face (due to the smoke damage to her vocal cords … at least the writers had a plausible explanation). And there is one other big difference too — Alexis 2.0 has some bite. She is on a mission to destroy Blake, even though it’s Adam she should be gunning for. And apparently she has money now and some leverage as the wife of Jeff Colby. In the original, Alexis married Cecil Colby, but this version of Cecil doesn’t have anything to offer her so they’ve stuck her with Jeff. The question on everyone’s mind is — is this marriage for real? It seems inconceivable, even for Dynasty, that Blake’s nephew would marry his ex-wife. Will the marriage last? In the original series, Cecil died of a heart attack while making love to Alexis and she tried to slap him back to life. And even though Jeff is suffering from neurological damage from the paint Adam had put on his office walls, I doubt they’ll kill him off any time soon.
But I still don’t know if I’m down with the new Alexis. When she was called to testify against Blake, Hendrix over-acted her testimony so broadly that I don’t see how anyone on the jury could be ‘hanging on her every word’. She was so dramatically over-the-top that I’m surprised no one guffawed out loud. Fallon was the one person who didn’t believe a word she said and set out to prove her performance was just that. When she learned the hair appointment Alexis claimed to have was actually a four-hour tanning session, Fallon knew there was no way she could have been anywhere near the manor when Blake ‘allegedly’ killed Mack, and her own courtroom theatrics — to which the judge didn’t bother to shush her — proved that Alexis was lying, or in legal terms, perjuring herself. Blake ended up with a hung jury and Alexis … didn’t get reprimanded?! It was all a bit ridiculous but still entertaining. But we may be at the point where it’s unclear if we’re supposed to be laughing with or at the show.
Screengrab
Which brings us to Adam’s shenanigans. Last we saw of him, he and Liam were about to fall out of a barn loft. Liam did not fall but Adam did. Sadly, he did not die, just broke a few ribs. And when he tried to explain, truthfully, why he burned down the Blue Bell vineyard, Blake wasn’t buying a word of it. The one time Adam was not lying and he gets shot down. But … there is another vineyard right next door to Blake’s and Adam does his best Lucy Ricardo impression to try and make things right.
Donning the most ridiculously fake mustache that even a blind person could see was fake, Adam proceeded to hoodwink the vineyard owner into selling his property because the ash from the Blue Bell vineyard was going to make his soil toxic. Presenting Blake with his new property, Adam was shot down again because Blake didn’t want a new vineyard, he wanted his vineyard, the one that actually meant something to him, the one last piece of business ownership he had in Atlanta. And for his troubles, Adam spent every last cent he had and has been banished from the manor. The original Dynasty Adam was a major foe for Blake, so it seems they’re finally moving Adam 2.0 into that position, perhaps teaming him up with Alexis and Jeff now. The Alexis-Jeff union has also brought into alignment the Alexis-Dominique rivalry.
The second season of Dynasty was a bit of a mess, writing-wise, and Season 1 was just unpleasant with the constant fighting between Blake and Cristal. It feels now like they have a solid writing team in place and a showrunner who is keeping things on an even keel and still managing to give a little wink to the audience that none of this is to be taken too seriously. Hopefully with all of the players now in place, the recently announced fourth season will continue this trajectory. But will there be a new Cristal?!?!
What did you think of this episode? Tell us in the comments section below!
Share this post
